CVE-2026-82449 in Cockpit
Summary
by MITRE • 08/29/2026
Cockpit CMS before 2.14.1 contains an account enumeration vulnerability in the auth check endpoint due to timing discrepancies in password verification. Attackers can measure response times across multiple requests to determine which accounts exist by observing that existing accounts trigger bcrypt verification while non-existent accounts return immediately.
VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/29/2026
The identified security flaw within Cockpit CMS versions prior to 2.14.1 constitutes a classic account enumeration vulnerability rooted in improper timing analysis during the authentication process. This issue specifically affects the auth check endpoint, where the system fails to implement constant-time comparison or uniform execution paths for password verification regardless of whether the provided username corresponds to an existing user account. In secure systems, the time taken to verify credentials should remain consistent whether the user exists or not, thereby preventing attackers from inferring information based on response latency differences.
The technical mechanism behind this vulnerability relies on the computational asymmetry between bcrypt hash generation and immediate rejection logic. When a request is made with a username that does not exist in the database, the application can immediately return an error without performing any cryptographic operations, resulting in a significantly faster response time. Conversely, when the requested username exists, the system proceeds to generate or verify a bcrypt hash, which involves computationally expensive key derivation functions designed to resist brute-force attacks. This intentional slowness for legitimate security purposes inadvertently creates a measurable timing side-channel that attackers can exploit.
Attackers leverage this discrepancy by sending multiple authentication requests with varying usernames and precisely measuring the server's response times using automated scripts or specialized tools like Burp Suite Intruder. By statistically analyzing these timings, an adversary can distinguish between existing accounts and non-existent ones with high accuracy. This capability allows for the systematic enumeration of valid user accounts within the CMS environment without requiring any prior knowledge of specific usernames beyond a list to test against.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it serves as a critical precursor step for more severe attacks such as brute-force password guessing or credential stuffing. Once an attacker has successfully enumerated valid account names, they can focus their resources on those specific targets, dramatically increasing the probability of successful unauthorized access compared to attacking random usernames. This undermines the confidentiality and integrity of user data managed by Cockpit CMS, potentially leading to full system compromise if weak passwords are used in conjunction with this enumeration technique.
From a standards perspective, this vulnerability aligns closely with CWE-204: Observable Response Discrepancy and CWE-287: Improper Authentication. It also maps to the MITRE ATT&CK framework under T1078: Valid Accounts, specifically within the context of account discovery techniques that utilize timing analysis as a reconnaissance method. Addressing this issue is essential for maintaining robust authentication security posture in web applications that rely on bcrypt or similar slow hashing algorithms.
To mitigate this vulnerability, developers must ensure that the authentication endpoint behaves identically regardless of whether the username exists. This can be achieved by implementing constant-time comparison techniques and ensuring that a dummy hash verification process is executed even when the user does not exist, thereby masking the timing difference. Additionally, applying rate limiting to login attempts and monitoring for unusual patterns in request frequency or response times can help detect and block automated enumeration attacks. Upgrading to Cockpit CMS version 2.14.1 or later resolves this issue by implementing these necessary security controls within the auth check endpoint logic.